1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to managing workloads on computing devices. Specifically, the invention relates to apparatus, methods, and systems for dynamically and securely activating and deactivating components on a computing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Businesses and other organizations frequently encounter seasons or periods which require increased processing capacity in order to expedite potentially lucrative opportunities. Traditionally such situations have required businesses to add processing capacity by upgrading their existing equipment, renting additional equipment, or purchasing additional equipment to meet the increased demand. Alternately, businesses may choose to make due with their existing equipment and hope for the best. Due to the significant implications of the various choices, such opportunities, while potentially lucrative, often place MIS personnel and company officers in a difficult situation at a time when their focus would best be directed to expediting the opportunity at hand.
Typically, when a customer desires to upgrade a computing system or device, the customer or an outside contractor purchases new components and installs the components in the computing system or device. Often new software must also be installed to enable the new components to work correctly. Consequently, purchasing and installing new components and software is an expensive, time-consuming process that results in much inefficiency.
Inefficiency also occurs when the extra computing power obtained from upgraded components is only needed for short periods of time. For instance, an online retailer may need extra computing power only during a peak shopping period, such as Christmas. The high volume of sales, returns, inventory ordering, and the like during Christmas requires additional processing power and higher bandwidth on communications links. When the Christmas shopping season ends, however, the need for the extra computing power also diminishes, resulting in high-capacity components that are underutilized for the rest of the year.
One possible solution to this problem is to rent high performance components during peak periods. Renting the components solves the problem of using expensive, upgraded components all year long. However, installing software and configuring the rented components to interface with a business's current software system may be just as difficult and expensive as upgrading. Time and opportunity may be squandered as employees integrate the rented system with the existing system. In addition, if the rented system is much different from the existing system, expensive training may be necessary to teach employees how to use the rented system.
Upgrading computing capacity or purchasing additional equipment under such situations is typically expensive, time consuming, and error prone. Initial costs for installing or upgrading such equipment may be very high. Significant downtime of currently available resources may occur, placing the organization in jeopardy of achieving its business goals. Considerable lead times may be involved in order to obtain and deploy the needed equipment.
The delays, costs, and risks associated with upgrading, renting, or adding equipment may significantly decrease earnings and profits associated with a particular opportunity. Given the delays, costs, and risks associated with upgrading or adding equipment, organizations may choose to make due with their existing equipment. However, a strategy of making due is also fraught with problems and pitfalls. For example, computing systems may be strained and fail under the heavy computing loads associated with the opportunity.
In addition to the challenges to the computing consumer, manufacturers of computing related components and systems are also presented with significant dilemmas in meeting the needs of their customer base in a timely, cost-effective manner. For example, in order to match the capacity of computing components and systems to the needs of their customers, manufacturers are often required to design, order, build, and stock components of various capacities.
Like their computing consumers, designing, ordering, building, and stocking components of various capacities in the highly dynamic field of computing devices and systems presents computer manufacturers with some difficult decisions. On one hand, manufacturing efficiency is optimized if production and delivery systems can focus their resources on a few select products and configurations with long order and delivery cycles. On the other hand, customer demand and satisfaction is increased with a wide range of products and configurations with short order and delivery cycles. A further complication is the short life cycle of computing components and the downward price pressures associated with soon-to-be obsolete products.
Typically, manufactures must make demand projections for specific products and configurations in order to match their manufacturing and delivery capacity to the expected demand. However, such projections are often highly speculative, resulting either in under-capacity and inability to deliver goods, or over-capacity and increased costs and overhead for those goods.
In order to reduce the costs and risks associated with such activities, manufacturers often elect to focus their offerings on a few standard products and configurations with more predictable demand profiles rather than risk losing money on speculative products. While such a strategy reduces risks, potentially lucrative products may be dropped, resulting in missed opportunity for the manufacturer.
Accordingly, a need exists for cost-effective apparatus, methods, and systems for providing scalable, on-demand computing capacity to computing consumers, particularly for high-demand periods and seasons. Such on-demand computing apparatus, methods, and systems would increase customer selection while reducing the cost to manufacturers of providing tailored solutions to computing consumers.